One of the worst ways to be exposed to hazardous chemicals is to spend years living on or near a hazardous waste site without knowing it’s there. But it can’t stay hidden forever.  Eventually, someone in the family gets sick or the neighborhood starts having three, four, or more cases of rare cancer on the same block. Exposure to a hazardous waste site is one of the many frequently preventable hazards that Tony and I see.    In all our research, Tony and I quickly learned one important truth: there is no such thing as a typical waste site.    It’s hard to say anything collectively about their sizes because they come in all different sizes. It may be as small as an old gas station with a few abandoned drums of waste, or it could cover hundreds of acres like some polluted industrial parks where textile mills and chemical companies operated for years. These sites could be located in highly populated areas or could be in a very rural area such as a group of three farms in central New Jersey. All located in Plumstead Township, they were used for the disposal of hazardous waste and polluted a large area of the township. Known as Goose Farm, Prijak Farm and Spence Farm, all were listed as Superfund sites.    It’s also hard to say anything collectively about their contents because these sites could contain a single type of hazardous waste or many different types all dumped together, creating a toxic ooze.   It’s even hard to say how many hazardous waste sites there are. In an attempt to find the number of hazardous sites in the United States, Tony and I contacted quite a few sources. We received numbers from the federal EPA, individual states, environmental groups, and even Alexa. Counts varied widely, as did opinions of what types of waste sites should be included in the numbers each counted.    One group, Infrastructure Report Card, an organization that does annual assessments of different critical aspects of American infrastructure, counted 18,000 sites. The EPA talks about 450,000 sites in the brownfields category alone with half of those coming from leaking underground storage tanks, most from gas stations. The National Research Council did a count some years back looking at sites with groundwater pollution from industrial operations. Their number was more than 126,000. New Jersey alone counts almost 14,000 hazardous waste sites  of varying levels of danger in their small state.   There is really only one thing though all hazardous waste sites do have in common: they all contain hazardous waste. That is the only commonality that the hundreds of thousands of sites all have.    According to the EPA, “Hazardous waste is waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to our health or the environment. Hazardous wastes can be liquids, solids, gases, or sludges. They can be discarded commercial products, like cleaning fluids or pesticides, or the by-products of manufacturing processes.”   That definition covers a lot of ground. Hazardous waste can be almost anything if it has the potential to be harmful to human health and the environment. This is disturbing because there are an estimated 22 million acres of land considered to be part of the primary hazardous waste management program administered by the EPA and other responsible agencies. Enormous parcels of land have been laid to waste by mining operations stretching out over thousands of acres.    Many of the sites became contaminated by people and companies who improperly handled toxic waste or disposed of hazardous waste carelessly in a manner that was going to harm other people and the environment. The majority of our toxic waste sites are the result of such carelessness. The industry for years discarded their toxic waste, treating this poison as insignificant, throwing it onto the ground or into a ditch. Millions of tons of that hazardous poison were simply discarded.    There were many shady companies who specialized in helping industries dispose of their waste. These companies sometimes bought land in rural areas and turned it into lagoons filled with the most toxic poisons on Earth. These companies found farmers who allowed trucks to bring barrels of these toxic chemicals and pile them somewhere on their properties. Tanker trucks would pull down dirt roads and unroll their hoses to empty their liquid into a ditch or creek. Town landfills routinely allowed hazardous waste to be dumped alongside household trash and then covered over.    Accidents really do happen. Although many accidents could have been prevented with better maintenance or attentiveness, there are times when an accidental release of toxic substances happens.  There are also leaks that may remain unknown for prolonged periods of time. A perfect example of preventable accidents are many of the toxic waste sites that are former gas stations. Many of these sites slowly leaked gasoline out of rusty old underground storage tanks. Had someone paid closer attention to the numbers pumped out with the numbers put in, they may have noticed a consistent difference and caught the leak much earlier.    When the location of a hazardous waste site is obvious, or at least suspicious and likely, we can avoid the area. The larger problem is that sometimes the chemicals from a hazardous waste site migrate off the contaminated area and into a nearby residential area. Many of the risks from living near hazardous waste sites are in the contaminants that travel off the site and away.    Some of the same groups who estimate the number of hazardous waste sites also estimate the number of people who live near one. Looking specifically at Superfund sites, the EPA estimated 16% of the population of our country is within three miles of one of these. In a one mile radius, 15 million people, or 5% of the U.S., is living that close to a Superfund site. These numbers certainly are not uplifting to see. By some definitions and estimates, over 75% of the population is within five miles of a hazardous waste site.    At many hazardous waste sites, the poisons sit, uncovered and exposed. Some have sat for decades since their discovery, leaking their toxic waste into the ground and soil and blowing away in the wind.    The three main ways people living near hazardous waste sites can be exposed to pollution are, as always, water contamination, soil contamination, and air contamination.  

1. Water Contamination

  Almost every household is hooked up to some type of a water supply. Public water supplies about 87% of the population with the other 13% of the country using private wells. Both sources are vulnerable to pollution from hazardous waste sites.  Public or private, hazardous waste is an equal opportunity polluter. Toxic chemicals can infiltrate and contaminate either water supply. The only difference is that public water supplies are supposed to be regularly tested for toxins before they deliver water to their customers.   Underground plumes of chemicals from hazardous waste sites contaminate water, which we then drink, not knowing it is full of toxic chemicals. Many times the pollution may be there for years before it is even tested for and detected.    On Long Island, New York, the town of Bethpage is finally learning all the facts about the chemical leak Grumman Aerospace Company has known about since the 1970s, possibly even earlier. Decades of drinking contaminated water has many residents wondering if the cancers and illnesses they have had over the years are from the poison that Grumman knew was in the water but warned nobody. Investigative reporters uncovered information the state actually knew about the health risks once the toxins were found in the first well back in the 1970s but allowed people to continue to use the water as the poison spread. The state government kept private the health risks associated with drinking water even though officials from the federal Environmental Protection Agency told state officials that the water was unsafe to drink, but the state did not publicly admit until 2019 that it may have posed a health risk. The plant had been responsible for leaking and dumping dangerous chemicals such as   trichloroethylene and volatile organic compounds and PCE, 1-4 Dioxane, and radioactive isotopes into the soil, all of which has extensively contaminated the groundwater. Eleven municipal wells supplying water to residents needed to be shut down, and about 17 more are currently threatened. The plume of contamination stretches 4.3 miles long 2.1 miles wide and is 900 feet deep. The EPA knows it will continue to expand.    In Paden City, West Virginia, residents are finding out their water from the city water department is contaminated with the toxic chemical Perc. An industrial solvent used for years in dry cleaning was found in the aquifer that supplies public water to the town’s four wells. The EPA considers Perc a likely carcinogen, and studies link the chemical to increased risk of cancer, neurological issues, and reproductive and developmental problems. The city water has three times the federal limit considered safe. The town is telling residents that it’s okay to drink the water for now, but doing so could lead to long-term health problems. The EPA took samples from a test well close to the dry cleaner that was suspected of leaking the Perc for over 20 years; the well had levels of Perc eight times the federal limit. Nobody yet can say with certainty how long the residents have been drinking the contaminated water.    In Prairieville, Louisiana, a hazardous waste site thought to have been cleaned up thirty years ago turned up more surprises. Very high levels of additional chemicals such as vinyl chloride; 1,1,2-trichloroethane; and other chlorinated solvents and volatile organic compounds have turned up, indicating there is much more toxic waste still on the site. Testing of the groundwater found 13 toxic chemicals exceeding exposure standards. One of them, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, was measured in the groundwater at 44 parts per million, nearly 1,050 times greater than the DEQ’s level of safety. The EPA said the chemical only causes cancer in laboratory mice, not humans. The CDC however calls this chemical a possible carcinogen also affecting the liver and nervous system. The state claims even though the drinking water aquifer under the site is contaminated, none of the water is currently being used for drinking water. There is a plume of chemicals stretching under the area to the end of the neighborhood. Shockingly, the state environmental agency has no plans to fully clean up the area. They only want to remove enough of the toxic chemicals to bring the contamination down to governmentally acceptable levels even though these levels are far from acceptable to the people living there.    In Phoenix, Arizona, a plume of contaminated water in the aquifer below the city stretches out, connecting to other plumes of water all contaminated with industrial chemicals and waste. For decades, many factories in Phoenix’s industrial areas dumped toxic chemicals on the grounds around their plants. The interconnected plumes cover 15 miles beneath the city streets and neighborhoods.    Parts of the plume have been known since the late 1980s. The chemicals in the water cause cancer, lead to birth defects, and affect neurological systems. The water is not being used for drinking, which is good, but vapors from the large concentration of chemicals are suspected of traveling through the soil into the neighborhoods above, continuously for a long time. The city also installed air strippers to help clean up some of the water pollution, but they are vented directly out on the streets in the neighborhoods too. Maybe someday people will know what they are being exposed to, and it may eventually be cleaned up. That day most likely will not come until the fight over who owns the water gets resolved. The bigger issue for now is who is going to be able to have the rights to sell the water once it is finally clean.    In Belmont, Michigan, PFAS were found in neighborhood wells near a waste dump used by the shoe company famous for Hush Puppies. State health officials found levels of PFAS almost 90,000 parts per trillion when the EPA advisory limit is 70 parts. The people there had been drinking dangerous levels of PFAS for years. One woman’s husband died from liver cancer, and her blood contained PFAS levels 750 times the national average. She now has thyroid problems and wonders what is next. The EPA says liver and kidney problems may develop from exposure as well as thyroid issues.     In 2017, more industrial waste was discovered in wooded areas hidden in the overgrowth where the neighborhood children play and hang out, exposing themselves to the chemicals. The landfill the company used was not the only place these chemicals were disposed of as they are being found in additional areas around the old site and in the neighborhood.    In addition to the water issues and waste outside the complex, excavators working inside the site have uncovered massive amounts of soil so contaminated with different types of chromium some in such high levels it appeared like bright blue soil at first. Multiple types of chromium waste in addition to PFAS and lead are being dug up at levels over ten feet deep.   

2. Soil Contamination

  Soil around and underneath many manufacturing sites contain levels of hazardous chemicals. Many hazardous waste sites consist of liquids and solids that have been poured onto the ground or burned on the ground.    In Honolulu, Hawaii, the discovery of lead in soil that is believed to have come from a long-gone fishing weight company is due to be removed. The hazardous waste site is only about 6,400 square feet, but almost 2,000 people live less than a tenth of a mile away. The level of lead was over 100 times what the regular level should be. It was so bad that the EPA said people could potentially have been exposed to the lead simply by walking near the waste site.    In the Overtown neighborhood in Miami, Florida, a crew doing some work found ten rusty barrels along the rear of an apartment building, buried under only two feet of dirt. The barrels were removed, and testing of the soil around the barrels showed a mix of toxic chemicals including barium, arsenic, Dieldrin (a now-banned, highly toxic pesticide), and other chemicals known to cause cancer.    Six months after the barrels were found, the area was fenced off using a cheap plastic fence and had no signs warning about the danger. None of the residents were told about the toxic chemicals in the soil because, as the county employee said, “There was no requirement to do so.” One observer said the fence had been trampled down, so it is hard to say with certainty how many people walked through the area.    Some of the illegal disposal is being done by several of the large corporations such as AT&T, Walmart, and Crystal Geyser Water Company. All have been fined millions of dollars after being caught illegally disposing hazardous wastes at regular landfills.    Other instances include one in Savannah, Georgia, when a waste company transported hazardous waste and, instead of taking it to the disposal facility, dumped it on the ground in a nearby neighborhood. Luckily, local hazmat teams were able to respond quickly and clean it up.    In a section of the Coconino National Forest outside Flagstaff, Arizona, hikers stumbled onto an area where midnight dumpers disposed of drums of highly toxic cleaning solvents. Specialized hazmat teams needed to remove the contaminated soil to prevent the chemicals from reaching a nearby river where they were dumped.    The Forest Service says this is not an isolated instance but one which is becoming all too frequent. South of Seattle, Washington, in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the hazmat coordinator said dumping of hazardous materials has increased with 20-30 toxic waste sites discovered annually.   

3. Air Contaminants 

  All types of materials are found in toxic waste sites. Depending on whether they are liquids or solids, wastes may travel off the site through the soil, water or air. Airborne particles blown by the winds contaminate nearby areas. Some materials found at hazardous waste sites are perfect for being blown away with the breeze. Large piles of mine tailings containing lead and arsenic catch in the wind and float away, toxic ash from giant coal ash dumps comes down like gray snowflakes coating cars and shrubs, and dried particles of various toxic waste–many small enough to be trapped in the lungs–get breathed by people living near the open waste site.    In Chicago, Illinois, a toxic waste dump sits next to crowded residential neighborhoods. About 10,000 people live close enough to be at risk from the waste sitting open and unprotected. Testing has shown lead, mercury, chromium, and cyanide to name only a few. The dump was used by a steel company to dispose of its waste for years.    One material especially stands out as a danger to the nearby people. Dust from the special furnaces at the steel mill was dumped on the site. This dust is collected from filters on the furnace to prevent it from being emitted from the smokestack. It contains many toxic metals in particle sizes so tiny they are able to penetrate people’s lungs and get into the air sacs and bloodstream. No covers or any protection prevents the dust from blowing into the neighborhoods nearby.    To call our country a toxic wasteland is far from the truth, but with millions of people living near hazardous waste sites, drinking water containing chemicals leached from these waste sites, and the diminishing possibilities or prospects for getting these cleaned up any time soon, many people live in their own toxic wasteland. Love Canal, Times Beach, and thousands more places exist. Despite environmental rules, despite the government spin, hazardous waste sites are one of the biggest threats to the health of the country’s population.    Use any of the databases available to check if there is a hazardous waste site near you. The state environmental office almost always has the best and most current listings. Check with your county environmental office as well. Sometimes the town hall where you live is a good resource, but Tony and I have been more disappointed than pleased at their knowledge of what is in town and the risk it presents.    Living in the area of a known hazardous waste site presents multiple risks of exposures to toxic substances. Many sites are still considered uncontained or uncontrolled, words the government uses to mean the people and the environment are at high risk in the area. Because hazardous wastes travel in multiple ways such as through the air, soil, and water, determining a specific safe distance from any of these sites is can be difficult and varies depending on individual sites. Factors depend on your answers to various questions. Are you using a private well or public water? Is the site open and the wind blowing the poisons into the surrounding areas such as the thousands of hazardous waste sites containing toxic mine tailings? Are there any bodies of water such as creeks or ponds near the site? Is the site currently in any stage of being cleaned up and what is the plan? Is there even a clean up plan in place at all? Your answers to these questions affect how far from these hazardous waste sites you should live. Impacted areas from many of these sites extend for one to two miles in many cases. The sheer number of these sites in some locations makes this even more difficult for you to keep distance between yourself and the sites.    Living near a hazardous waste site is taking a chance we do not suggest. We have never found any of these sites not to present a risk at some level that did not concern us. As a rule of thumb, pathways of exposure would suggest keeping at least two miles away. If you depend on well water, regularly have the water tested at least annually and immediately if you suspect any strange tastes or smells.